Challenge: find me an induction capable griddle

The new induction cooktop is on order and of course I'm almost through with my "buying opportunity" spree, weeks in advance of actually going to induction. I have the new stockpot, nonstick omlette pan, and one replacement sauce pan (all LC). But I'm not sure about how to take advantage of the new bridge element. It will bridge two 7 " burners, making around 15" of cooking space. I don't need a grill, I grill outdoors, I just want a non-stick griddle for making lots of pancakes at once.

So far, LC says not to use theirs on glass (i suspect the bottom must not be even), All Clad has made theirs of aluminum. The only thing else I can find is Lodge. I'm really not very good with maintainng the non-stick properties of the antique Lodge pan I have, so I'm not too thrilled w/ that idea.

I don't know how you feel about cast iron cookware, its weight, and about storing in somewhere. I love my very cheap generic cast iron 2 burner griddle, which has ridges on one side, and is smooth on the other. That should fit your 15 inches handsomely and cook pancakes, steak, numerous species of kebabs from different cultures, bacon, Indian chapati & various paratha on the hob, naans & pita in the oven.

It can be stored inside the oven, semi-permanently, where it becomes a great temperature modulator, a baking stone for breads, a pizza stone [best if you put a wire pizza pan over it]. You can grill eggplant for hummus & rollatini [a whole bunch of slices] on it in the oven, bake vadouvan base with ease [see NY Times & Fat Free Vegan], bruschetta, and many fun things like super garlic bread with toasty undersides. Baked toast is a great treat too,

But this is an induction cooktop, which means you can simply lay down some paper towels, set the pan/griddle on them, and start cooking scratch-free. That's what we do with our extensive Le Creuset collection on our induction range.

How can you tell that the steel composition is correct for induction? It appears that some stainless is magnetic and some is not. Could you say it's true that ALL steel is magnetic if it's NOT stainless?

Yeah, and you're right...I'm unsure weather I can make it perform as a non-stick, but for $39...it wouldn't kill me to find out. Thanks GH.

The Chef King griddles are described on some sites as stainless, but clearly they are not. I have seen one source describe them as induction capable, which sounds right. If you get one from a source that says it is, they should stand behind it.

You are correct that some stainless steel is more easily magnetized than others. That is true. For carbon steel (not stainless), I think all the common ones in the markets can be magnetizied. I won't go as far as saying "all" steel can be magnetizied. I am sure you can put in some elements to prevent it. However, all the simply carbon steel should be magnetizied. You really have to go out of your way to make it not magnetizied.

Just to clarify, steel is iron with carbon quasi-alloyed during the smelting process. Stainless is steel alloyed with chromium which negates magnetivity. Some manufacturers embed a steel or iron plate in the bottom of a stainless pan to make it induction friendly.

The 18/10 SS that is commonly used for cookware is not magnetic. 18/0 is magnetic, but not as resistant to corrosion. So many induction compatible pans have an 18/10 body, and an 18/0 disk or layer bonded to the bottom (often with aluminum sandwiched in between).

When browsing pans at TJMaxx I keep an eye out for the distinctive induction compatible disk base.

I haven't picked one up yet, but I'm planning on getting a cast iron reversible grill/griddle to use on my bridge induction elements. I'd just put a silpat or other cushion between the griddle and glass. The griddle can't get hotter than the silpat tolerates, since the induction element would turn off before it got that hot, and you don't have to have the cookware in contact with the induction burner for the energy transfer to work. I forget what the specs are for my unit, but you can have the cookware at least a couple of centimeters above the burner, and it will still work.

Allclad d5 square griddle pan. It's stainless and induction friendly (confirmed). Four pieces of French toast at once so probably two or three pancakes at a time.The bonus is that you can use it for a lot of other things, and I'm kind of amazed how good this thing works. I think you have to actually try to burn something on it, and you can get away with a lot less butter/oil.Le Creuset used to make a square griddle (discontinued) but I dropped it and it broke (which also amazed me)and I've been looking to replace it for years. Problem solved.Hope it solves yours. It is BIG with the handle, so you'll need some space to store it.